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Weipert gets GOP nomination for vacant county commission seat

Phillip J. Weipert of South Lyon will appear as the Republican candidate on the Nov. 2 ballot to fill a vacant county commission seat representing South Lyon, Lyon Township, Wixom, Walled Lake and part of Novi.
Weipert, one of six Republicans who ran as write-in candidates in the Aug. 3 primary, had the most votes and met a minimum threshold of votes needed under a complicated formula to claim the Republican nomination.
“The threshold is going to be met,” Oakland County Director of Elections Joe Rozell said Thursday.
The six Republicans jumped into the primary race as write-ins following the death in June of Commissioner Jeff Potter, a South Lyon Republican.
The Oakland County Board of Canvassers tackled certification of the primary voting results in that district first when they started meeting Wednesday. They’ve been pouring over ballots and results in a conference room at the county’s Executive Office Building.
Also seeking the nomination as write-ins were Adam Chalmers and Patricia Sue Maida, also of South Lyon, Frank Patrick Christopher of Walled Lake, Sean Walsh of Novi, and Joseph E. Shigley Jr. of New Hudson.
The canvass shows Weipert had 1,580 votes to 812 for Maida, 295 for Shigley, 281 for Christopher, 37 for Walsh, and 16 for Chalmers.
Weipert will appear on the November ballot with Democrat Michele Berry of Wixom.
County canvassers have up to two weeks to certify the results of the entire Aug. 3 primary election as official.
Rozell said canvassers will likely need the full two weeks to certify results this year because of the large number of write-in candidates.
In other races with write-ins, Oakland County Democratic Party Chairman Mike McGuinness of Waterford was seeking a spot on the ballot against Republican Oakland County Commissioner John Scott of Waterford.
Rozell said canvassers should know by the end of the day Friday whether McGuinness had enough votes to appear on the November ballot.
The 8th congressional district includes the Oakland County communities of Holly, Groveland, Rose, Springfield, Brandon, Independence, Oxford and Addison townships plus much of Orion Township. The district also includes all or parts of Livingston, Ingham, Shiawassee and Clinton counties.
For that seat, Democrat Lance Enderle of East Lansing was seeking ballot status as a write-in. It’ll take longer to determine if Enderle met the threshold and had enough votes to appear on the November ballot.
“We won’t have figured out for the full two weeks,” Rozell said. “There are just too many communities.”
There are also a number of write-in candidates for precinct delegate, slowing the canvassing.
Once the Aug. 3 primary results are certified as official, candidates or communities wishing to ask for recounts have six days to do so.
Rozell said there have been inquiries so far about recounts in the Democratic primary for township trustee in Waterford Township, where John Paul Torres held a three-vote margin over Donna F. Kelley, and in Clarkston where voters turned down a tax proposal by eight votes.
The costs of a recount are paid by the communities in the districts where the recounts occur.
Rozell estimated a recount in Clarkston would cost about $1,500 while a recount in Waterford could cost between $5,000 and $7,000.
In races where candidates challenge the results of an election, the candidate pays $10 per precinct and that cost is deducted from the total bill paid by the communities in the district.Contact staff writer Charles Crumm at 248-745-4649, charlie.crumm@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @crummc. For more election information, visit 2010electioninoaklandcounty.blogspot.com.